Rugby Games Compete for World Cup Prize

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New Zealand event offers 'FIFA' glory for growing sport.

By IGN Staff

The 2011 Rugby World Cup kicks off in New Zealand today, with 20 nations - including the USA - competing for the biggest prize in one of the world's fastest-growing sports. Two games are tussling for a place to take the prize as the gaming top-dog 'Madden' or 'FIFA' of rugby.

Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge from Mad Catz releases in the U.S in mid-October, just as the tournament will be reaching its climax. In more rugby-friendly countries like New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, the game is already available and is set to land in the UK early October.

Rugby is a niche sport in the U.S., especially popular on campus. According to Wikipedia, there are over 80,000 players registered with USA Rugby; including over 30,000 high school students.

The game is growing and videogames have a history of helping sports along. A spokesman for Mad Catz said, "I know lots of people in Europe who learned about football from playing Madden, and there are also plenty of people in North America who have come to appreciate the finer points of soccer through games like FIFA. Rugby is a complex sport, but it's easy to learn, and we have designed the game for beginners as well as fans."

Its main competition is Rugby World Cup 2011 from 505 Games, which is available now through selected retailers. Alastair Jarvis, general manager at developer HB Studios said, "Our rugby games have for a long time introduced newcomers to the sport and having grown up playing rugby on the West Coast of Canada, I can attest to the passion of rugby fans on these shores. With the launch of Rugby World Cup 2011 and the tournament's broadcast on television in the US and Canada, the numbers of fans devoted to the sport is set to see another spike."